The Psychology of Enlightenment by Gurudev Shree Chitrabhanu. 1979, Berkeley

“The whole world is divided into three kinds of people.

First and most common are those whose life-energy is spent killing time. For them, life has no meaning other than eating and drinking and grasping for enjoyment, which always eludes them. They are like human machines, seeing and suspecting nothing beyond the limited scope of their own machine. Killing time, they kill their own energy and drain the energy of those around them. Time merely passes for them.

The second kind are those who want to do something with their time and energy, but don’t know what to do. They are confused in their pursuit of various techniques and books and in their choice of paths. Lacking direction, they do not grow. Though they may read a great deal, their reading does not bring inner nourishment. These people lack the sense of discrimination, so their search leads them nowhere.

The third kind are those individuals who turn to their own inner experience for counsel.. They have embarked on a real journey to the inner Self wherein lie all of life’s answers. They know that if the answer is not found within, it surely cannot be found anywhere outside.

When we consider the example of those dynamic individuals like Einstein, for instance, who have brought some gift of themselves to mankind and changed the face of the world, we must realize that we, too, possess a hidden treasure within: the gift of infinite potential. We have the same capacity for unfolding our latent talents and energy as they do. What is possible for one human being is possible for each of us.

Then what can we do to manifest our infinite potential? We begin by believing that this capacity exists within us. Stop relying on something outside of yourself. We must believe, instead, in our infinite reservoirs of strength and vitality.

What kind of person do we want to be? The decision is up to us. Shall we simply pass the time allotted to us in a meaningless round of temporary pleasures? Shall we scatter our precious life-energy in a dozen directions that lead nowhere? Or shall we choose, instead, to go in the direction of growth, to gain wisdom, and insight from our experience of life, and to discover and unfold your unique qualities?

To reach our goal, whatever it may be, it is necessary that we remain single-minded in our effort, although the mind will no doubt tempt us to go in a hundred different directions.

My teacher once asked us, “If you were looking for water, would you drill fifty holes of one-foot depth, or one hole that was fifty feet deep?” In either case, the effort is the same, but the results are different.

We can choose to dissipate our energy in a variety of fruitless, incomplete attempts to find water, or we can concentrate our attention, time, and muscle-power on digging in the direction of water until we tap it. The choice is ours.

To move in the direction of growth requires the persistent study of one’s own Self.

How do you study the Self?

Begin simply by asking, “What is man? Who am I?”

“When we seriously ask ourselves, “Who am I?” we become aware of the conflict between what we have been taught to think we ought to be and what we really are.

It begins to dawn on us that we have not been living correctly. That is when we turn inward to discover the exact nature of our body, our mind, and finally, the inside dweller which is our true Self.”

“The first step is to consider the body. It is composed of four essential elements which ancient traditions called earth, water, fire, and air. You will not find any organism in which thse four elements are missing. Now, each of these elements has its corresponding element in the universe. The earth element within the body, for instance, corresponds or vibrates with the earth element throughout the universe.”

Let’s first concentrate on our own Earth element, our muladhara.

Muladhara, mula: root, adhara: support

“The whole structure of our bodies is balancing itself on that support which is the lowest vertebrae of our spinal column. Earth element.

This is the first point of awareness; transform the feelings of insecurity into a solid foundation of self-reliance.”

“We are investing our energy in the fear of future want. Our habit of comparing what we have now with what others possess produces this sense of insecurity, which denies us the capacity to enjoy what we have already. It is a kind of addiction which brings anxiety and drives us to amass more than we need. With this mental addiction to achieving a sense of security through possession of more and more things, man no longer remembers what he originally meant by “more”.

Focus on planting seeds of what you want to manifest and create. Enjoy what you have and focus on what is working. Eliminate the unnecessary. Let it shed off like snake skin.

Let the negativity shed away, any guilt, shame, fear, or anxiety. As long as you don’t think negatively about yourself, negativity cannot affect you.

Instead, accept the divinity within you and your divine nature will gradually become apparent.When you acknowledge and respect your true self, the world, in turn, will acknowledge and respect you.

“So our first step is to give up this insecurity which spoils our ability to enjoy what we have right now.

Meditation: I shall now become in touch with my Earth element. I know this whole universe belongs to me and I am a part of the universe. Acquiring things will not bring me real security. I know that I am always secure when I feel my one-ness with the universe.”

“In Sufism, we are taught to remember three things that we love but will never be ours: Our Egos, our Bodies, and our Belongings.

We put so much energy into these things but time is passing and we forget what we actually have, and how rich we truly are.

The more we acquire, the emptier we become.
We are only distracting ourselves from our own inner harmony.

Strive to create, to find what nourishes you, and to persevere into bringing forth your gifts.

Grow into the human you have always wanted to be.

Spread your limbs of authentic expression out into the light. Flowers will blossom, emanating the fragrance of your genuine truths, and the fruits of your integrity will eventually drop down to nourish others, so they may plant their own seeds of hope and inspiration.”

At every present moment we can decide how we want to perceive the situation. Then we begin to remember that we can create our own vibrations we want to contribute to the situation at every moment.

When we remember that we are simply bodies of energy, (vibrations of life), then we remember that our emotions (the vibrations we are presently experiencing), are our decision to feel.

Energy cannot be created nor destroyed, but on its most subtle level, as a vibration, it can be altered. So, as living, walking bodies of energy, it is up to us of which vibrations we want to embody and contribute to our environment for all of the bodies of life around us to experience.

If you want peace, then choose for your own energy to be peaceful.

Your perceived universe will only become vibrations of peace if you, the body at the center of your universe, chooses to become a body of peace.

If it is irritation or sorrow your body feels, acknowledge it. There is a reason why it was brought into your energy field. Acknowledge it and ride it like a wave. You can choose how you want to respond to it. It is a living, tangible vibration that wants to be heard and felt. So give it the recognition it is asking for.

But with careful patience and compassion, find the source of this energy. Once the source comes to the awareness, the symptoms will subside. The energy will fade, and turn back into the peaceful state you naturally are.

Let the waves of energy flow into your vibrational sphere, sadness, fear, anger, anxiety.. Let them flow around you and be consciously aware of each one. Find its source, and then let it fade as naturally as it arose.

Deep down below the commotion of the waves, the quiet waters of content reside. Remember this is your truest nature, the vibrational awareness of the ocean’s still depths. The vibrations above are but temporary, influenced simply from day to day interactions. It is the immortal depths of below that you will find your inner stillness.”

May all beings bask in the glow of sensual love, embracing their partners not out of pride or greed, but from sheer joy of being alive together.

May all beings enjoy the smell of waking up in their best dream, waking up to a brand new day of paradise and sheer excitement of what this new day will bring, alive in another day of this living dream.

May all beings hear their heart song as they exclaim their truths through their actions.

May all beings caress their own bodies with the loving tenderness they wish to receive.

May all beings feel the fantastic feeling of simply being. Nothing to fight for, nothing to prove, just being.

May all beings feel the comfort of Gaia’s embrace. Her all-encompassing request for everything alive to grow into its truest essence. The flowers bloom to the color of petals Gaia asks for, and they emanate the perfume Gaia dreams about.

No more, no less.

She asks for sunflowers to sing their truest essence while lotuses, cherry blossoms, and gardenias sing their own songs.

Each with their own vibrations, each with their own jazz.

No more, no less.

Orchids, dandelions, papaya blossoms, daises, and tulips, each destined to be a living song of Gaia’s symphony. All predestined of her strength and character.

As the flower grows from seed or bulb into her fullest potential, she must not fret about whether she looks okay, or smells different from the rest of the garden.

Her job is to grow two ways; one is towards the light, towards the sunshine, towards the emanating pull that gives strength, hope, nourishment, and love. The other direction of growth is deep within the soil, spreading roots throughout the thick dirt, weaving around obstacles with perseverance, searching for sources of nourishment, paving the way for herself, blindly stretching past comfort zones to continue growing strong and full.

The flowers and trees learned these principles of perseverance, strength, and growth, from the whispers of the sun and water.

We only need to follow nature’s example; find your light, find the illuminating brightness that asks for you to stretch and grow into your fullest strength. Find your water that nourishes you, that asks for you to overcome every obstacle to reach your source of inspiration.

Grow stronger in your authentic expression so you can emanate your own fragrance of joy, your own symmetry of confidence, and your own unique hues of brilliance.”